3 Tier spacing

[Shady]

I'm building a frame for a 3 tier gravity system.
How much vertical space do I need between the bottom of my HLT and the top of my mash tun?
I've seen comments about 2 - 3 ft is required, but this makes the stand very tall. For an effective sparge, do I really need 2-3 foot separation?

 

[FoxPaw]

I'm building a frame for a 3 tier gravity system.
How much vertical space do I need between the bottom of my HLT and the top of my mash tun?
I've seen comments about 2 - 3 ft is required, but this makes the stand very tall. For an effective sparge, do I really need 2-3 foot separation?

On my system the HLT was just high enough for the valve and fittings to clear the mash tank top lip/lid for access. I would agree that if you put the HLT 2-3 ft above it would make your stand quite high.

 

[Soulshine2]

I'm building a frame for a 3 tier gravity system.
How much vertical space do I need between the bottom of my HLT and the top of my mash tun?
I've seen comments about 2 - 3 ft is required, but this makes the stand very tall. For an effective sparge, do I really need 2-3 foot separation?

It all depends on the individual heights of your equipment.
I put mine on casters.
I designed mine from the floor up.
I placed my carboy on the floor (on a 2 wheel dolly, or a thin piece of carpet)
the height of the top of the neck I added 2 inches ,thats where the bottom of my boil kettle valve is.
The top of my boil kettle plus 3 inches is the bottom of the valve on my mash tun( igloo cooler) .
The top of my mash tun is the bottom of my strike water kettle.
I do use a 13 inch step stool to stand on as I fill my strike kettle but its cool water not hot so theres no danger of spilling hot water on myself .
I batch sparge . i used to run the sparge on a time frame but IMHO I found it really doesnt matter . Once the conversion is done, I just do a dump and run the sparge water to a couple inches over the grain , stir and wait 10 minutes to settle (quick vorlauf I guess), crack the valve and then dump again to the boil kettle. I do this until I've reached my pre-boil volume. My numbers hit near perfectly every time.

 

[kh54s10]

I designed mine from the floor up. I started with the boil kettle. I made a platform so that with it and the propane burner it could be drained into a fermenter set on the floor. Then the bottom of the mash tun is about 1 inch higher than the boil kettle. On top the height of the burner has the bottom of the HLT about 1 inch above the mash tun. You only need the top of the next vessel an inch or two below the one above.

Feet is in error, no need for that. I batch sparge, But I don't think you need any extra height to fly sparge either.

 

[kpipes68]

It all depends on the individual heights of your equipment.
I put mine on casters.
I designed mine from the floor up.
I placed my carboy on the floor (on a 2 wheel dolly, or a thin piece of carpet)
the height of the top of the neck I added 2 inches ,thats where the bottom of my boil kettle valve is.
The top of my boil kettle plus 3 inches is the bottom of the valve on my mash tun( igloo cooler) .
The top of my mash tun is the bottom of my strike water kettle.
I do use a 13 inch step stool to stand on as I fill my strike kettle but its cool water not hot so theres no danger of spilling hot water on myself .
I batch sparge . i used to run the sparge on a time frame but IMHO I found it really doesnt matter . Once the conversion is done, I just do a dump and run the sparge water to a couple inches over the grain , stir and wait 10 minutes to settle (quick vorlauf I guess), crack the valve and then dump again to the boil kettle. I do this until I've reached my pre-boil volume. My numbers hit near perfectly every time.

Could I see a pic of your rig?

 

[RM-MN]

i think your HLT should be at least 30 feet above the mash tun.

Now to ask the question, do you need an HLT? Do you want to spend the extra time that fly sparging needs or do you just want to make beer? There is little efficiency to be gained by fly sparging over a well done batch sparge and there is little to be gained by sparging with hot water instead of cool. If you feel the need to have a cool looking brew sculpture, forget anything I mentioned but I do not like hot water where it could be spilled on my body in case something goes wrong.

 

[Soulshine2]

Could I see a pic of your rig?

absolutely. its around somewhere...I'll find it and copy it back here.

 

[ApolloSimcoe]

I use a 3 tier gravity system as well. I dont know how much higher my HLT is from the MLT but the bottom of the HLT is higher than the top of the MLT. I use a sparge arm very similar to the link below. I like how it works but what i do notice is that the hose that runs from the outlet of the HLT to the top of the sparge arm forms a loop/arc which can go higher than the outlet and sometimes creates an issue with a gravity siphon, especially if you sparge slowly. The vertical arm is adjustable and the higher i set the arm the higher the hose gets. Just something to keep in mind.

https://dickcreekbrewery.com/imperi...r-all-grain-home-brewing-on-any-mash-tun-0-1/

 

[Soulshine2]

I couldnt find one in the forums already ,so here it is. Easy build in an afternoon.

All structural wood fasteners are 5" Spax I got from a job, in fact all the wood is too, repurposed wood from industrial sized pallets( they once held the 50K lb machines used in auto manufacturing)
See that red light in the center of the panel? I robbed the guts from the apartment stove and that red light is the element power light. It reminds me that I have it on.
Top element is a small one only because its purpose is heating water to lower than boiling temps. The lower one is the larger one since it is actually boiling a large amount of wort. If you do this , make sure the potentiometers(knob/element controllers) match the burners as they are not all the same wattage. The thin grayish surfaces under the pots are tile backer since they offer a little more heat protection than simple wood (3/4 plywood underneath). The stove top drip trays sit in cutouts . It doesnt get all that hot around the "burners" ,just a precaution.

 

[Soulshine2]

I designed mine from the floor up. I started with the boil kettle. I made a platform so that with it and the propane burner it could be drained into a fermenter set on the floor. Then the bottom of the mash tun is about 1 inch higher than the boil kettle. On top the height of the burner has the bottom of the HLT about 1 inch above the mash tun. You only need the top of the next vessel an inch or two below the one above.

Feet is in error, no need for that. I batch sparge, But I don't think you need any extra height to fly sparge either.

sounds like we have a very similar design. Can you post a pic of yours as well so OP can see?

 

[kh54s10]

This is mine. The tubing on the ceiling is for filling the HLT. There is a utility sink just out of the picture on the right. Unfortunately for me I moved a while back and the stand is in storage.

 

[Soulshine2]

View attachment 623815 This is mine. The tubing on the ceiling is for filling the HLT. There is a utility sink just out of the picture on the right. Unfortunately for me I moved a while back and the stand is in storage.

ah yes, I actually got MY idea from seeing yours.

 

[kh54s10]

ah yes, I actually got MY idea from seeing yours.

Glad I could be of help.

Now to get that out of storage so I can disassemble my contraption that I am using now.

 

[Shady]

Thanks for all the pictures and advice. I'm going to have fun building this. I'll add my own pictures when I'm done

 

[Soulshine2]

Thanks for all the pictures and advice. I'm going to have fun building this. I'll add my own pictures when I'm done

just an FYI on your own design. Had I thought more about it ,I would have made my uprights different so storage of my other pieces of equipment would fit better, might have even designed in a milling station . good luck and yes , post pics.